Witches, Curses, and Rituals: Story Structure for Dark Magic
Witches, Curses, and Rituals – Week Two of our Ultimate Halloween Worldbuilding Series Supernatural fiction becomes richer when magic has rules, consequences, and intention. Witches, curses, and rituals, in particular, form the mythic backbone of dark magic – they define … Continued
Haunted Houses & Ghosts: Story Structure for Supernatural Fiction
Haunted Houses & Ghosts – Week One of our Ultimate Halloween Worldbuilding Series Supernatural fiction begins with atmosphere – and few things set a Halloween atmosphere better than haunted houses and ghosts. Together, these two systems form the architectural … Continued
Worldbuilding: Creating Worlds Of Adventure
Worldbuilding is possibly one of my favorite things about writing. The thrill of deciding what goes where, how things work, who rules whom, and what the world looks like. Your world is more than just the story’s setting; it … Continued
Ideas, What Ifs, and Building Your Own Muse
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” – John Steinbeck Have you ever read or watched something and wondered where the writer got his … Continued
A.I.: My Hate/Love Relation
When it comes to A.I., I hate it. I don’t use the word “hate” loosely, either; there is both reason and passion behind this emotion. Yes, A.I. has its good qualities but it can also have a negative … Continued
Women of the Written Word
Women writers of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century don’t seem to receive the credit they are rightfully due. Many of them had to adopt male pseudonyms or names more gender neutral. A few chose to simply use their … Continued
Travel and Writing (But Not Travel Writing)
Travel and writing are two of my passions. Somewhere on the internet in an unpublished holding pattern, I have a site that combines the two. I have a few posts almost ready to go, but they are setting on the … Continued
Horror: Why I Chose to Write It
“Age-old horror is a hydra with a thousand heads…” – H.P. Lovecraft I have, of late, found myself drawn to the idea of trying my hand at writing horror. Up until now, the only forays I have made … Continued
Welcome To The Downjot
If the name sounds familiar, it should. A few years back I had a little blog, my first blog, called Downjotter.com and I was pretty proud (I was so naïve).